Presentment: A Plea for the Future of New Forest Commoners

Good morning Official Verderer, Verderers and members of the court,

My name is Will Parry-Norton, I’m 13 and I’m a New Forest Commoner.  Having seen and heard what is happening, and my dad’s involvement within the forest, in my own words I would like to express my concerns for my future.

My ambition is to follow the legacy of the commoning tradition within my family; I wish to turn out livestock such as ponies and cattle, and contribute towards preserving this unique landscape and heritage, following in the footsteps of my dad.

At this point in time, I am worried I may not be able to for fill these ambitions for a number of reasons.

As I get older, I will have to deal with the following pressures:

Land and house prices are at an all time high, and are only looking to get higher and higher. This means that young commoners like me are very unlikely to be able to afford our own holdings by ourselves.

Visitor numbers are rapidly increasing, and the risk of interaction with our livestock is ever growing. This could not only result in putting tourists at danger, but could further result in myself being sued and the animal being taken off the forest, and possibly getting put down. The loss of our animals is not only a financial loss, but a deeply emotional loss too, for the commoners and their families.

Finally, I would like to ask the Verderers to remember that as a young commoner, we need a viable and secure future to be able to continue Commoning.

I am proud to be a Commoner, and I hope I always will be.

Thank you for listening to my presentment.